RALEIGH, N.C. — For more than a decade, it has been hard to imagine the Clemson Tigers being uncomfortable in the position they were in Saturday night: trailing North Carolina State in double overtime, fourth-and-5 at the 20 yard-line in front of a frothy, capacity crowd on the road?
Yes, Clemson was one play away from defeat. But laying before the Tigers was also an opportunity: Score a touchdown and muster the required 2-point conversion and all the futility of the last four hours — the mind-numbing penalties, the crippling injuries and another performance far from their championship standards would be forgotten.